Run
by jemb
Summary: Booth finally reveals his true feelings but Brennan's reaction isn't what he expected. CHAPTER TWO ADDED what will happen now that Brennan has run from Booth? CHAPTER THREE ADDED What will Brennan do now that Booth is the one to run?
1. Chapter 1

_**I started this with the intention of making it a one shot. Depending on the reviews I get I may continue it so if you want more you know what you have to do when you you reach the bottom of the page. And please, if you have nay ideas on where you think I should take this, let me know. **_

Brennan raises her hand to Booth's door and knocks sharply three times. She shifts her weight between her feet as she waits for an answer. Finally he draws the door open, his eyes widening in surprise at seeing her on his doorstep.

"Bones? What are you doing here?" he asks.

"I wanted to talk you."

"About what?" _I know exactly why she's here_

"Can I come in?"

"Uh, sure, sorry." Booth steps aside and lets Brennan in. She stands just inside the door, her arms folded. "So, what's going on?"

"That's what I came here to ask you." Brennan stares at him, trying to read his face.

"What do you mean?" Booth plays innocent.

"Booth, you've been acting strangely for weeks now and it's starting to affect our cases." Brennan states. "Is there something going on with you?"

"Uh, no, of course not. What could be going on?" _She's not buying this_

"Booth, please. If there's something bothering you, you should talk about it. It doesn't have to be to me." Booth sighs heavily and walks over to the couch.

"Sit down Bones, there is something I need to say." Brennan follows him to the couch and takes a seat at his side. She turns so she is facing him and looks intently into his eyes.

"The reason I've been acting strange lately. Well, it has to do with you."

"What? Did I do something wrong?" she asks, her voice laced with worry.

"No Bones, you did nothing wrong." Booth smiles. "In fact, you've done everything right."

"I don't understand."

"You wouldn't." Booth chuckles. "Bones, there's something I've wanted to tell you for the longest time but I haven't had the courage."

"Whatever it is, you can tell me. We're partners."

"Partners." Booth chuckles again. "That's a big word with a lot of meanings."

"I don't…"

"Understand, I know." Booth takes a deep breath and locks onto her bright blue eyes. "Bones. Temperance." She shudders when he uses her given name. He only uses it when something big is going on. "I'm in love with you."

Booth's words echo round Brennan's head. _He's in love with me? Why? Why would he say that?_ She sits in shock as Booth stares at her, obviously waiting for a response. When she doesn't say anything Booth begins to worry. This is not how he imagined this moment going.

"What?" Brennan finally whispers.

"I said I'm in love with you." Booth repeats, hoping this time the shocked look on her face will change. Instead, Brennan rises to her feet and begins to back away from him towards the door. _She looks scared_ he notices. _I didn't mean to scare her_.

"Bones?" he rises to his feet and steps towards her but Brennan keeps moving until she reaches the door. Her hand fumbles for the doorknob which she finally finds. With her jaw still hanging open in shock, Brennan pulls the door open and steps into the doorframe.

"Temperance, please wait." Booth reaches out to grab her arm but she turns and takes off running down his driveway. "Bones!" Booth calls after her. She doesn't stop though. She keeps running; down the path, down the street and as far from Booth as she can get.

xxxx

Booth runs to his bedroom and yanks on a pair of sneakers and a sweater before bolting out his house to follow Brennan. _I have to catch her, I have to fix this_. He keeps up a fast pace, heading in the direction Brennan ran in, hoping he'll catch up to her.

xxxx

Brennan gasps for breath, her chest feeling like it's going to explode. She begins to slow down, her legs aching and her lungs burning. _I can't run anymore._ As she glances around her surroundings, she realises she's in a park. Spotting a bench, she jogs over and collapses down onto it, hunching her body over and burying her head in her hands. _Why did he have to ruin everything?_

_xxxx_

Booth reaches the end of his street and doesn't know whether to turn left or right. He makes a split second decision and goes left, running towards the park he often takes Parker to when he has him at weekends. As he slows to a jog, he spots a dark figure on a bench. He doesn't need to be any closer to know who it is.

"Bones?" Booth approaches her slowly, not wanting to scare her. But she shows no sign of running this time so Booth slips onto the bench next to her.

"Why did you say it?" she asks quietly, her eyes focused on her shoes.

"Because it's true." He shrugs.

"But why? Why would you want to change everything?" she lifts her head and turns to him.

"Bones, I can't keep pretending that this thing between us isn't there. We both feel it. You can't tell me you don't."

"I do."

"So why did you run?" He asks. Brennan swallows, preparing to explain to him why she took off.

"Booth, you are the one solid thing in my life. The one person I know I can rely on no matter what." Booth takes her hand in his but she snatches it back. "I don't want to lose that."

"You won't."

"Booth, you don't understand." Brennan feels few tears fall from her eyes. "It won't work."

"Why not?"

"Because Booth. Every guy I get involved with eventually leaves." She sighs. "If you leave me, I don't think I could handle that."

"Bones, I'm not going to leave you."

"You can't promise that. You don't know what's going to happen. And I'd rather keep you in my life as my partner, and my friend, than not have you in my life at all." She feels her voice growing stronger.

"I don't know if I can do that Bones. I'm in love with you and I can't just turn off my feelings."

"I know." Brennan rises to her feet. "But in time you'll meet someone else, someone prettier and smarter and funnier. Someone you don't need to explain everything to."

"I like that I have to do that Bones." Booth forces a smile onto his face but Brennan just shakes her head.

"I know things will be difficult for a while Booth, but soon enough we'll go back to normal." Booth looks up at her from the bench, his heart slowly breaking into a thousand pieces.

"Bones, please." He begs.

"Booth, please. This is my decision. Trust me. It's the best thing for us. You'll understand one day." As she begins to walk away from him, Booth rises to his feet.

"Temperance!" he calls after her but she doesn't stop. She doesn't want Booth to see how much this hurts. She knows she's breaking his heart but hers is breaking too.


	2. Chapter 2

Temperance Brennan does the only thing she knows how to do. She throws herself into her work. It's a vain attempt to distract her mind and body from the myriad of emotions she has been feeling since Thursday night when Booth announced that he is in love with her. Her weekend was spent productively identifying three civil war soldiers and categorising some artefacts to be presented with an Inca mummy exhibit. As expected, none of her squints put in an appearance so Brennan did not have to hide the pain that is still written all over her face. She sees it when she looks in the mirror, when she catches her reflection in the glass and feels it when she finally drops off to sleep and her facial muscles relax. But now the weekend is over and not only will she have to face Booth when he inevitably comes around, she'll have to explain herself to Angela, who with her sixth sense, is bound to figure out something is up within seconds of seeing her.

"So Bren, what naughty things did you get up to this weekend?" Angela asks as she saunters into Brennan's office around eight thirty. "My bad, it was me doing the naughty things." She breaks into a grin and slides into the chair opposite her best friend. Brennan plants her most normal smile on her face.

"As long as you were safe." Brennan nods.

"Always." Angela grins. "You look tired Bren. Did you work all weekend again?"

"I had things to do."

"Always with the 'things to do'." Angela air quotes. She rises to her feet and heads for the door. "Oh hey, there's Booth." She says. Angela's back is turned to Brennan so she does not see the look of panic quickly spreading across her friend's face. "Mmm, he looks good today." Angela sighs contently. She turns to Brennan and for a moment thinks she sees something strange in Brennan's eyes but just as quickly, it disappears. "I'll send him your way sweetie." Angela waves as she walks off, leaving Brennan with a pounding heart and shaking hands.

Booth knocks on the doorframe of Brennan's office. She knows it's him before she glances up.

"Hey Bones." He says tentatively. After last week he isn't sure how she will respond to him.

"Hi Booth." She smiles a little and rises from her desk. _Just pretend it never happened. That's the only way to get through this. Soon enough you won't have to pretend._

"So, uh busy this morning?" Booth struggles to make conversation.

"Yes, I have some remains to identify but if you have a case it can wait." She is surprised at how normal her voice comes out.

"No case." Booth shrugs.

"So you're here because?"

"Bones." Booth sighs heavily. "I was hoping we could talk." .

"About what?" she asks innocently.

"You know what about Bones." Booth sighs heavily. _Why is she pretending like it didn't happen?_ Brennan realises that even if she can pretend, Booth can't and he's not going to let it go so easily.

"Booth, we talked about this." Booth takes a few steps towards Brennan, his deep brown eyes focusing on her intensely.

"I know but I was hoping you'd changed your mind." He offers a weak smile. Brennan is only angered by this. _Did he not listen to me?_ She screams inside.

"Booth, no." she says firmly.

"Come on, you're not even going to think about it?"

"I don't need to think about it." She plants her hands on her hips. "Booth…" she is cut off by the sudden return of Angela who immediately realises she's stepped into something she shouldn't have.

"What are you two arguing about now?" she rolls her eyes.

"Nothing." Booth and Brennan reply in unison.

"Sure, looks like nothing to me." Angela smiles. "Come on, kiss and make up." She grins, unaware of the impact that innocent statement is making. Booth watches as Brennan's eyes widen. He knows she's going to run again.

"I have to go." Brennan suddenly flees the room. Booth calls after her but Brennan doesn't stop.

"Okay Booth, what's going on? What did you do this time?" Angela asks. Just as Booth summons the courage to confide in Angela, the one person who might be able to help him, his cell rings. He shakes his head and pulls his cell from his pocket, answering curtly.

"Yes sir, We'll be right there." He tells the caller after listening for a minute.

"Booth?" Angela demands.

"You know Bones." He shrugs. "Whatever I did to piss her off, she'll get over it soon enough." His charm smile comes out and he searches Angela's eyes for acceptance of his explanation. After a moment she visibly relaxes.

"Well whatever it was you did, the sooner you apologise the sooner she'll forgive you." Angela tells him. Booth nods and heads out. He has a new case and he needs his partner.

Xxxx

Contrary to Booth's words, over the next few days, instead of getting better things only seem to get worse between the partners. Whenever they are together the tension between them is so thick it could be cut by a knife. And anyone else unfortunate enough to be in the same room can feel it. For Booth, it is reminiscent of the early days of their partnership when he didn't know the woman behind the scientist and she thought he was just another cocky FBI agent. It had taken him a long time to break through her outer shell and get to know her. And it had taken him just as long to show her that he wasn't what she thought he was. Then in one night he went and destroyed it all.

Angela has also become extremely suspicious about the pair but her attempts to find out what is really going on have come to nothing. It hasn't escaped her notice that Brennan has been avoiding her and when she does manage to pin Brennan down all she gets is some generic excuse about Booth undermining her or not listening to her. Angela doesn't believe it for a minute but neither Brennan nor Booth seems willing to explain what has gone wrong. _I have to get to the bottom of this_ Angela realises.

Brennan is deep in concentration at her desk when Angela knocks. Worried for a moment that it is Booth, Brennan visibly relaxes when she sees her friend.

"Hi Angela."

"You got a minute?"

"Sure." Brennan saves the information on her computer and twists her chair towards Angela.

"What's going on with you and Booth…and don't give me some excuse about how he pissed you off. This has been going on for far too long to be explained away by you two having a simple argument. You argue all the time but it never lasts, not like this."

"Angela."

"Sweetie, tell me the truth." Brennan stares at her friend, fear rising inside. _I can't tell her the truth_. "Bren, tell me." Angela presses.

"I…" Brennan feels cornered and like she has no choice but to tell Angela. But saving her at the last minute is a call on her cell. Brennan grasps the phone and answers it in a split second.

"Brennan." She turns away from Angela who sinks back into the chair realising she has just lost the chance to find out what is really going on between her friend and Booth.

"I'll meet you out front." Brennan states as she rises from her chair. "That was Booth." She tells Angela, putting her phone into her bag at the same time. "We have a case."

"Bren."

"Angela, don't worry. Booth and I are fine." Brennan lies. "I'll call you later." She adds as she hurries out of her office. _Out of the frying pan and into the fire _she contemplates as she waits for Booth to pick her up.

xxxx

The new case Booth and Brennan are working on is relatively straight forward in comparison to some of the other cases they have had, yet every step of the way Brennan seems to disagree with Booth.

"You're jumping to conclusions again Booth." Brennan leans against the silver table with the remains laid out on it.

"Come on Bones, you know as well as I do that Carter is responsible." Booth slams his hands down onto the table.

"The difference is I will be able to prove it, you just don't like the look of the guy." She glares at Booth, meeting his eyes and feeling the intensity.

"Guys, guys." Hodgins steps in. "Chill, will you." Brennan and Booth turn to Jack and glare at him. "You'll damage the remains." He indicates to the bones separating the two.

"You know what, I'm outta here." Booth raises his hands in defeat. "Call me at the office when you have something." Booth sighs as he walks away. It is finally hitting him that this whole situation is not going to work. He can't be friends with Brennan and she can't be more than friends. _There's only one solution_ Booth realises with a heavy heart.

A couple of days later Booth returns to the Jeffersonian. He has purposefully kept his distance because he doesn't want to argue with Brennan anymore. But with his decision made, he feels he has to tell her in person. So he walks through the lab towards her office, taking some deep breathes. She is sitting at her desk when he reaches the doorway.

"Hey Bones, can I talk to you for a minute?" Booth asks.

"I'm busy Booth." Brennan doesn't even look up from her computer.

"I know. This won't take long." Booth walks into her office and stands at the end of her desk. "I can't do this anymore." He states.

"Booth, you can't do it because you're not trying. You won't even give it a shot." Brennan tells him. "If I can do it, you can do it too."

"No Bones I can't. Listen to me. I just can't be around you anymore, it's too hard, knowing how I feel about you and how you feel about me but not moving forward with that. I've asked Cullen for a transfer. The Baltimore field office has an opening."

"What?" Brennan asks, floored.

"You said you couldn't do this because you don't want to lose me but that's exactly what's happened Bones." Booth shakes his head. "Everything has changed even though you pretend it hasn't. And I can't keep working with you when our…relationship…is this messed up."

"I..Booth wait." Brennan whispers, her worst fears coming true.

"I'm sorry Temperance." Booth tells her before he walks out of her office, knowing it may be the last time he sees her.


	3. Chapter 3

**_I hurried chapter 3 coz all my reviewers were desperate for it. This is the final chapter too. I hope you like it._**

After Booth's bombshell, Brennan sits on the couch in her office crying, all the emotion of the last two weeks bursting over. Angela walks in and is immediately worried. _Brennan doesn't cry very often so whatever is going on must be huge._

"Bren?" she asks tentatively.

"He's gone." Brennan sobs.

"Who's gone?"

"Booth."

"What? Why?"

"Because of me."

"Sweetie, I know you've been fighting but you'll work it out, you always do." Angela takes a seat next Brennan and rests her hand on her shoulder.

"We haven't been fighting."

"I've seen you two sweetie, it sure looks like you were fighting."

"We weren't fighting Angela." Brennan repeats. "It was the opposite."

"What do you mean? I don't understand." Brennan takes a deep breath and prepares to tell Angela the whole sordid story.

"Two weeks ago I went to see Booth. He'd been acting strange and I thought something was wrong."

"Was it?"

"He said everything was right." Brennan laughs a little.

"Sweetie, you're not making much sense."

"Booth told me…He told me he's in love with me." Angela has no response. She knew Booth had feelings for Brennan, strong feelings. But she didn't think he would actually tell her. _There's that line that can't be crossed._

"I pushed him away Angela." Brennan wipes the tears from her cheeks. "I told him I just wanted to be friends, partners."

"Now sweetie, I know you do not mean that. I know you have feelings for him too."

"I do Angela. But my track record isn't exactly great. Every time I enter a relationship with a guy it ends and we never stay friends. And it's usually my fault, push them away. I need Booth in my life and I was willing to sacrifice happiness to keep him there."

"I'm guessing it backfired?"

"He's moving to Baltimore." Brennan begins to cry again. "He said he can't be around me anymore."

"He's right."

"What?"

"He's right Bren. You can't expect him to just forget how he feels."

"How about how I feel? Do you think I want to pretend I don't have feelings for him?"

"So don't. Look at Hodgins and me. I did the very same thing and all it did was hurt both of us. We're giving it a go and its working."

"What if it goes wrong Angela. I don't think I'll be able to handle it if he leaves me."

"He's not going to leave you. He's crazy about you and you're crazy about him."

"But…"

"Don't think about the buts Bren. You deserve a chance at happiness and Booth wants to give you that."

"I've blown it Angela. He's gone."

"Find him. Tell him how you really feel."

xxxx

Brennan screeches to a halt outside Booth's house. His lights are on and his car in the driveway so she knows he's home. Her feet carry her up the drive and she raps on the hard wood door before her brain registers the action. Booth must have been near the door because he answers quickly, pulling the door open wide.

"Bones?" Booth looks genuinely surprised to see her.

"Hi." She greets him. "I need to talk to you."

"That sounds familiar." He says as he steps aside to let her in. Brennan walks in and glances around. _He doesn't look like he's packing to move yet, maybe I have some time._ "So, what did you want to talk about?" Booth maintains an image of not caring. He doesn't want Brennan to know just how hurt he is.

"Booth, I've made a huge mistake, about us." Booth is taken aback by her words but he isn't about to let her off that easily.

"It's a bit late to be telling me this Bones." Booth shakes his head. "I'm moving to Baltimore." a heavy sighs escapes his lips.

"Booth. I'm in love with you. I'm crazy stupid in love with you." Brennan begins to cry as the reality of her words hitting home. "And I need you in my life. I thought if we became more than just partners and things went wrong then I'd loose you and the thought of not having you in my life scared me more than the thought of being with you." Booth wants nothing more than to take her in his arms and kiss away the tears but he holds back.

"It took you two weeks to realise this?" he asks.

"It took the thought of really losing you to make me see how stupid I've been." She sobs.

"And you think that you can just come here, say these things to me and expect me to change my plans?" Brennan is shocked at Booth's attitude. She thought he would be happy at her coming here.

"I guess I blew it." She sighs, trying to hold back more tears. "I'll just go." Brennan moves towards the door. When she reaches it she turns back to him. "When do you leave?" she asks. Booth lets a cheeky grin cross his face.

"I'm not leaving." He watches as Brennan's face shows at least four different emotions in a few seconds.

"What?" she asks, thoroughly confused.

"I'm not going to Baltimore Bones." Booth walks over to her.

"You lied to me?" she asks.

"It was the only thing I could think to do to get you to realise what you'd be missing." Booth shrugs.

"I can't believe you lied to me." Brennan says angrily. She stomps towards him and slaps him on the shoulder. "You can't go around playing with people's feelings Booth."

"You're one to talk Bones." Booth smiles, knowing he has to keep the atmosphere light or she might run. Brennan realises he's right and she instantly relaxes, allowing a smile to cross her tear stained face.

"I guess I deserve that." She hangs her head, unable to look at him, feeling a mixture of guilt and embarrassment. But Booth has no intention of letting her hide from him. He slips his fingers under her chin and lifts her head so she is forced to at him.

"Temperance Brennan, I am in love with you." He says softly.

"I'm in love with you too." Brennan whispers. She closes her eyes as Booth leans into her, capturing her lips with his. She feels his arms around her back pulling her close to him. In response, she slides her arms up and around his neck, drawing him down towards her as they deepen the kiss. A thousand emotions course through her body but all Brennan knows is that none of those emotions are of fear. Something in Booth's kiss tells her he'll always be there and she surrenders to him, finally letting someone through that last wall to her heart.


End file.
